Daddy's Hands
by Batman Lamp-Writer
Summary: My little rose... the most beautiful thing to have... the most generous gift one can give... the most treasured symbol of love and God gave me a life supply of it through you... my little Rose. -A young woman remembers her father, the hero. One-shot.


A/N: Okay, little writer's-block-breaker, here. Enjoy.

**Lines in bold are from 'Daddy's Hands' by anonymous.**

_Lines in italics are flashbacks._

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**My little rose... the most beautiful thing to have... the most generous gift one can give... the most treasured symbol of love and God gave me a life supply of it through you... my little Rose.**

"_Hey, sweetie," the young woman lying on the bed said, cradling the small bundle in her arms, "come say hello to your daughter."_

_The man walked over slowly, nervously. He peeked into the bundle, gasping as dark blue orbs blinked up at him sleepily. "She's so beautiful," he breathed._

"_Mm, she gets that from you, I'm sure."_

_He kissed his wife on her forehead. "She must, because she's not quite as beautiful as you."_

_The woman giggled. "Oh, shut it, Danny." Then she sighed. "So… what're we gonna name her?"_

_Danny thought hard, brow wrinkling as he bit his lip. Then, he remembered something his mother used to say when planting her flower garden. "My little Rose…."_

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**Do you remember saying that, Daddy? I still remember. I never told you just how special that was to me, but I will cherish it forever. It's a beautiful day out. Look, the sun is shining, and over there, the birds, they're chirping. And boy! The grass is as green as ever... and long too!... ooh, Daddy... just look at this... you can't even read your name 'cause the grass has grown so much... I do wish the yard help would take better care of you while I am away...... there... that does it... your face-lift is complete!... but I guess it doesn't matter, huh.**

_The young girl had grown up so fast. She was already outside, helping her parents with their garden. She quickly took over the digging, throwing dirt around in her excitement._

_But she frowned to see her parents start clipping the grass back. "Daddy, why don' you like the flow'rs?"_

_Danny blinked at her. "The flowers?"_

"_Yeah, you cuttin' the geen ones!"_

"_Oh! Those aren't flowers, silly, they're __grass__."_

"_Why don' you like the geen flow'rs?" she asked stubbornly._

_He chuckled. "They're bad flowers. If they could, they would make all the other flowers go away."_

"_Why? Why're the geen flow'rs mean?"_

_He shrugged. "That's just how they are, Rosie." He pulled at another piece of grass. "We leave them there so the lawn looks nice, but we have to keep them from getting too big. If they do, our lawn and garden will be all green and look yucky."_

"_Oh…." The girl reached down to the grass, then pulled it up harshly. "Bad flow'rs!"_

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**Things are going pretty good with the family... Thomas Christopher is getting real big. He's right over there... in the car. Can you believe it has been three years since he came into the world? He is growing up so fast! He is starting to talk up a storm... He eats like a horse... his favorite food is fried chicken, of course... just like his grandfather... and he runs all over the place causing as much trouble as he possibly can... I need roller skates to keep up with him. He is a beautiful little boy... His eyes are as blue as the Pacific Ocean and his hair as white as snow... just like you Daddy... I wish you were here to see him... his hands are just like yours too... Big and strong, but without all those lines and calluses.**

The young woman glanced down at the stone, resting a red flower on top. She hated this time of year, but she knew it was inevitable. "Hey. I'm back again." She chuckled. "Back to bother you, like always."

A horn blared from the car parked in the distance. The woman looked at it to see a small child standing on the driver's seat, his hand on the horn. "Mommyyy!"

"I'll be back in a little bit, Tommy!" she called back to him. "Please be patient!"

The boy sat back down, huffing.

She turned back to the stone, sitting before it. "He wants to be just like you, you know. Says he'll pick up your job once he's old enough." She sighed. "I guess I know how Mom and Gramma felt now…. He acts just like you and Grampa, too. Always playing ghost fight around the house. Poor Tom's always the bad guy, too."

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**Remember the time at church when I was sitting next to you as you were holding my hand and I shouted, "Daddy! You're holy!" How was I supposed to know that the holes I saw were from broken blisters from a hard day at work. I was only five and I practically believed you were God Himself and I had just discovered how to prove it to everybody... show them that you were 'HOLY'. Boy, did Pastor Jim ever get a chuckle out of that. Maybe he was just a little bit nervous that the congregation would ask you to do the baptizing... you would have been great if you had. I thought you would be so mad at me, but you just smiled and told everybody, in your gruff voice, "That's my little Rose!"**

"_Daddy, why do we hafta go to church?" the five-year-old asked her father curiously._

"_Because, we just do. And if we didn't, your mother would throw me out of the house."_

_While the girl giggled, Danny's wife came over and slapped him on the back of the head. "I heard that!"_

"_You weren't meant to!"_

_She huffed. "I swear, there are times when I think I'm raising two five-year-olds instead of only one!"_

_Both father and daughter shared a look before starting a tickling fight. The mother and wife quickly dragged them both inside._

_As they sat down on one of the pews, the girl flipped her fathers hand over and studied it, tracing the lines and rough spots with her own small finger. Just as the pastor stood and began to speak, she cried out, "Daddy, you're holy!"_

_Danny blinked in shock down at the girl as his wife hissed at him. "Get-your-daughter-out-of-here!"_

_He stood, picking up the girl and heading out the door. Once there, he set her down on a table. "What was that for, Rosie?"_

"_Your hands are holy," she stated._

_He looked at her in confusion before laughing. "Sweetie, my hands are a __different__ kind of 'holy.' They have holes."_

"_Yeah, holy."_

"_No, __holey__, with an 'e'."_

"_I don' get it."_

"_Holey-with-an-e means that something has a lot of holes, like my hands do from blisters and calluses. Holy-without-an-e means… well, it means you're always on your very best behavior. __Always.__"_

"_But, you…. So, you're not holy?"_

"_No, I'm not, sweetie, but I try to be."_

_She flipped over his hand, again tracing the lines. Then she nodded. "Well, you're still holy to me."_

_He chuckled. "That's my little Rose."_

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**Oh, but I bet you remember the time you spanked my behind all the way down Main Street and into my bedroom! I admit, I might have deserved it, but you wouldn't let me go play with the other kids and the only way I could was to sneak out the back door. How was I supposed to know that you were going to the store next to the park... you really felt bad didn't you?... I understood, Daddy... I really did... **

"_Ooh! He makes me so __mad!__" The now-teen was angrily pacing her room. "Stupid no-ghost-hunting-on-school-nights rule! He used to do it __all__ the time, so why am __I__ the one who gets punished?" After a few more rounds, she paused, listening._

"_What am I __doing__ in here, anyway?" she murmured. "Dad refuses to put up the shields on any of the rooms. I can just sneak out! It's not like anyone's here right now…." Mind made up, she nodded and headed to her door. She was out and downstairs in no time. As she pulled open the back door, she called out, "Bye, Mom and Dad! I'm gonna go disobey your stupid rules now!" Chuckling, she left._

_The park was only a few blocks from her house, so walking was no problem for her. She already knew her friends were waiting there. She just needed to get there herself._

_She was only a block away when her genetic klutziness kicked in. The door to the hardware store in front of her had just opened, and she ran right into the man coming out. "Oh, crap!" she exclaimed, jumping up to help him. "I am __so__ sorry, sir! I—I wasn't looking where I was going, and—!"_

_The man shook his head. "It's fine."_

_Her eyes widened at him. "…Crap." She started to turn and walk away when a voice behind her made her stop._

"_Rosie?__ I thought you were on lock down?"_

_A million curses echoed through her mind as her friend ran up to her. "Uh, yeah, 'bout that…."_

"_Rose?" The man she had run into turned her around to face him. He was glaring._

"_Uh, hi, Daddy…?"_

_His eyes flickered between blue and green. "You," he growled, "are in __big__ trouble."_

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**... I really miss you Daddy...... I miss your hugs... I miss you patting me on the back when I did something right... in a weird way, I even miss the spankings I would get for doing something wrong... at least then I knew you were here... if you would just come back to me...**

The woman choked back a few tears. "I'm sorry I didn't listen. I know I should've, but… it just didn't make sense to me then. I know better now, thanks to you."

A tear escaped her. "I miss you so much. I… I just want you back…please…"

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**This wasn't supposed to happen... you were perfectly fine that night when you went to bed...... How can you just DIE in your sleep... THERE WEREN'T ANY SYMPTOMS... NO HISTORY... NO WARNING.. NO GOODBYES! ****You****just****died****! You promised me you would be here when I graduated from high school, when I got married, when I had children... your grandchildren... ... I was counting on you Daddy... **

_It was late at night. Danny had just gotten home, and both his wife and daughter were thrilled to see him back. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!" his wife sobbed, clutching him to her dearly._

" '_M sorry," he mumbled, obviously tired._

"_Daddy," the teen breathed, grabbing him in a hug. "I thought you were gonna die!"_

_He grinned weakly. "Well, I'm only half-dead. Still."_

_She scowled, punching him. "Don't joke like that! …I was scared, Daddy…."_

_He pulled her closer. "There's nothing to be scared of now. I'm here to stay."_

_That had been only a few days ago. Yet he had broken his promise. That night, he had fallen asleep and never woke up. Both wife and daughter were heartbroken, realizing that that battle he'd come back from was his last. Something had been slipped to him, killing him in his sleep._

_Graduation was a dark day, mirroring the young girl's thoughts as she remembered her father's promise only three nights before. A tear slipped down her cheek as she whispered, "You were supposed to be here, Daddy…."_

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**WHERE ARE YOU!! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN TO ME! IT'S NOT FAIR!!!... A... a rose... it's not the most beautiful and treasured thing in this world, Daddy... Do you know what is? A ****father**** is!... Why has God taken that from me? What have I done to deserve this! What about a life supply for me? Where is my gift?**

"I want you back," the woman sobbed. "You weren't supposed to leave me! You…you were a hero. My hero! …I want you back…."

She wiped away her tears, remembering the reason behind her name. "A rose isn't the most treasured thing in the world. You were. And now it's gone."

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**... Oh... Thomas...... what are you doing out of the car? I told you to stay there until I came back... Why am I crying? Because Mommy is sad. Why? Because I miss my daddy... Where is he? He died and went to live in Heaven. You don't have to cry... come here …sit with me and let me hold you...**

"Mommy?" a small voice called to her.

The woman looked up, startled.

Beautiful blue eyes stared into hers from under shockingly white hair. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Swiping a hand across her face, she stammered, "I—I'm sad, that's all. You're supposed to be in the car…."

"But why are you sad?"

"I lost someone, sweetie. A long time ago."

"Well, where'd he go?"

"He—He died and went to live in heaven."

Now the boy's eyes teared up, threatening to spill over.

"Oh, no! Don't—Don't cry!" She pulled him to herself. "Come sit with me…."

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**My daddy, your grandfather, was the most loving man you would have ever met. And you know what?... You look... you look just like him. He was big and strong with Pacific Ocean eyes and snowflake hair. He had arms and legs mad out of steel and a 'belly' full of love. But the best part about my father was his hands... They were big and strong, but so very gentle and caring... and they looked a little like...... well, they looked just like these hands right here... see the two lines on the inside of your hand, my daddy had those too. They were just like yours, except that my daddy's hands had a few wrinkles and calluses... but I don't think they were always like that... no I don't suppose so...**

_A young woman laughed as she swung. Behind her, a man echoed her laughter in a deep voice. A glance behind showed her that her father was still pushing._

"_Why are we out here, again?" she asked, grinning._

"_Well, you're out here to do as much as you can in your last day of childhood."_

"_And you?"_

_Blue eyes sparkled with mirth as a green wrinkled his face. "I'm here to relive mine."_

"_Mom's right."_

"_Hm?"_

"_You __are__ still a five-year-old!"_

"_Hey!"_

_The girl chuckled again. "Push me higher!"_

_The man shook his head, laughing as white hair fluttered about in the wind. "Alright, alright, your highness."_

"_That's Ms. Your Highness to you!"_

"_That's Ms. Not-Getting-Her-Favorite-Dinner-Tonight."_

"_You wouldn't!" she gasped._

_His smirk told her he would. "Try me."_

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**... why... am I... crying?... No, I am not sad this time. I'm happy. Why? Because I just realized something that I should have realized a long time ago...****You're**** my most beautiful and treasured gift in this world. How could I be so blind for so long. You are the spittin' image of my father... your eyes, your hair... and your hands...... those hands...**

"Mommy, you're cryin' again?"

"B—But I'm happy this time."

"W—Why?"

She grinned at her son. "Because I've realized something. The person I lost, they were so much like you." She cupped his chin, mussed his hair. "You're just like him. I—I never really lost him. I gained you."

"…So… does that mean we can leave now?"

She chuckled. "Alright, run along. I'll be right there."

"Yay!" The boy ran back to the car.

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**Here now. Go back to the car. Run along now and mommy will be there soon.... My little rose... I love you, Daddy!**

_The dance was beautiful. Girls twirled around in not-quite-prom dresses, the boys spinning them in suits. One teen in a shiny blue sundress spun around the white-haired man she'd come with. He grinned at her as she spun back. "So," he said, "I'm not messing up too badly, huh?"_

"_Daddy, it's the Last Dance. It doesn't matter how badly you mess up, I just want you here."_

"_I can't believe you graduate in just a few days."_

"_Neither can I." She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing._

"_Well, know this: I will __always__ be here for you."_

_She chuckled. "Silly Daddy, I knew that already."_

"_Well, don't forget." He tapped her on the nose, then they both breathed out wisps of blue smoke._

_She grinned at him, pushing away all sad thoughts. "Go do your job."_

_He nodded, kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be right back. Save me another dance." He ran out, readying to fly off and save the day._

_The teen swished her skirt about, grinning sadly. "No problem…Daddy."_

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A/N: Wow. Read and review, please.


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